INC-STEP Reference Collection

@incstep.bsky.social

285 Followers 162 Following

Distributed national reference collection for insect pollinators in Spain 🦋🐝🪰 Formerly under TETTRIsEU #NameItToSaveIt See also @SENPollColl on Instagram!

Image of a male Iphiclides feisthamelii (Duponchel, 1832) perched on a thisle. The image accompanied by the project logo and the phrase "We are taking flight!". Credit: Carlos García Sanjuán
Infographic: "3 Key Objectives: 1. Mobilisation of collection-based data on pollinators. 2. Training and education of students and collection managers in best practices. 3. Networking and long-term collaboration among institutions housing pollinators."
Infographic: "What is SEN-PollColl? (Supporting and Enhancing a Network of Pollinator Collections throughout Spain). SEN-PollColl is a European project based in Spain and derived from previous project INC-STEP (TETTRIsEU) to build a reference pollinator collection in Spain. This project aims to strengthen collaboration among regional pollinator collections and enhance their role in research and conservation."
A. Ricarte delivers his plenary talk in the main auditorium of the Congress. Source: M. París
This picture shows M. París and S. Montagud standing in front of Sergio's virtual poster. Source: M. París
R. J. Wilson delivers his plenary talk on the role of NHCs in pollinator conservation. The moderators of the congress were at his side. Source: M. París
This picture shows A. Ricarte, M. París and P. Aguado standing in front of Mercedes' virtual poster. Source: M. París
Conference poster. It provides information on the dates, location, organising institutions and a QR code for accessing the website. Source: Congress organisers
Robert J. Wilson stands with a hot cup of tea in front of his poster, 'Developing a National Reference Collection for Pollinating Insects in Spain'. Source: R. J. Wilson
Team photo of the workshop attendees in front of the Faculty of Biology at UCM.
Blackboard covered in post-its for the SWOT analysis: weaknesses are written in green on the top left, strengths in pink on the top right, threats in yellow on the bottom left, and opportunities in blue on the bottom right.
A3 sheets provided to answer the questions mentioned above, which were discussed at a table with several participants.
Berta Caballero presenting her contribution to the workshop.
Both lecturers during their presentation of this preliminar survey.
Arturo H. Ariño giving his section of the presentation on database standardisation and preliminary results.
General view of the attendees during the coffee break.
General view of the assembly hall where the first part of the workshop is taking place. The attendees comprise more than 20 stakeholders from a variety of different backgrounds.
From left to right: Isabel Rey, Domingo Marquina and Rafael Zardoya in the assembly hall of the Biology Faculty at the UCM, during the opening talk of the day.
Poster with information about the event. It features an illustration of a butterfly (genus Iphiclides) on a flower. The background is cream yellow. The poster reads: ‘First Meeting of Scientific Reference Collections. Pollinators: Towards a National Network for Their Management.’ It provides information about the date and location of the event. It also displays the logos of all the participating and collaborating entities, as well as the organising project. Source: our own
Infographic illustrating some preliminary results our focal-taxa the genus Colletes (Hymenoptera, Colletidae). Its taxonomic difficulty is considered high (shown in red). The INC-STEP reference collection comprises over 2,200 specimens (2, photo of a entomological box) belonging to 32 out of 38 species (1, photo of a specimen). The species with the most specimens is 'Colletes nigricans' (3, represented by a photo of a live specimen over a flower). Source: our own Photo credits: MNCN Ent. Coll. & Owen Beckett
Graphic image of planet Earth with red location markers. Photo source: AI generated (ChatGPT)
Labels of a Xylocopa valga female specimen from the MCNB collection. Photo credits: Sergi Gago Carrión
Infographic illustrating some preliminary results our focal-taxa the genus Bombus (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Its taxonomic difficulty is considered high (shown in red). The INC-STEP referecen collection comprises over 9,400 specimens (photo of a entomological box, pic no. 2) belonging to 36 out of 38 species (photo of a mounted specimen, pic no. 1). The species with the most specimens is 'Bombus terrestris' (represented by a photo of a live specimen over a flower, pic no. 3). Source: our own Photo credits: MNCN Ent. Coll. & Joan Parera Riera (CC BY-NC-ND)
Screenshot of a page from one of the record books from the MCNB collection. Source: MCNB
Infographic illustrating some preliminary results regarding one of our focal taxa (the subfamily Eristalinae, order Diptera). Its taxonomic difficulty is considered to be medium (shown in yellow). The INC-STEP reference collection comprises over 3,300 specimens belonging to 150 out of 294 species (Photo 1 illustrate a specimen and Photo 2 an entomological box containing some other specimens). The species with the largest number of specimens is 'Eristalis tenax', represented by a photograph of a live specimen on a flower (Photo 3). Source: our own Photo credits: MNCN Ent. Coll and Michael Becker (CC BY-SA 3.0).
The little drawers where the labels are stored are sorted by type of type. Each compartment hold one type of label. From top to bottom: holotype, lectotype, paralectotype, paratype and syntype. Source: our own Photo credits: A. Sánchez Albert
Red labels are used at the MNCN-CSIC Ent. Collection to label type specimens. The image shows sheets with syntype (sintipo), paralectotype (paralectotipo), paratype (paratipo) and holotype (holotipo) labels. Source: our own Photo credits: A. Sánchez Albert
Infographic illustrating some preliminary results about one of our focal-taxa (Family Hesperiidae, Insecta: Lepidoptera). Its taxonomic difficulty is considered medium (shown in yellow). The INC-STEP referecen collection compresis over 9,300 specimens (2, photo of a entomological box) belonging to 32 out of 33 species (1, photo of a specimen). The species with the most specimens is 'Thymelicus sylvestris' (3, represented by a photo of a live specimen over a flower). Source: our own Photo credits: MNCN Ent. Coll, MCNB Arth. Coll & Ivar Leidus (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Some of our taxonomic experts working in the INC-STEP's reference collections. In this photo, S. Montagud and J. Hernández working in the Hesperiidae collection at MNCN. Source: MNCN
Entomological box contains specimens of Myathropa florea (Diptera: Eristalinae), which are being organised and catalogued following expert identification at the MNCN Entomology Collection. Source: MNCN Ent. Coll. Author: A. Sánchez Albert
Photographic montage showing a side view of the holotype of Eumerus petrarum (male), which was recently described by Aguado-Aranda, Nedeljković, and Ricarte (2023). It is a small, entirely black hoverfly with a characteristic orange first segment on its abdomen. The photograph is surrounded by a Taxonomy Recognition Day sign and the logos of TETTRIsEU and INC-STEP, as well as a dorsal view of the same specimen. Source: our own Photo credits: P. Aguado Aranda
Entomological box containing labelled specimens of common NHC pests. The box is divided into smaller cardboard boxes, which arrange the insects according to the materials they damage. Source: MCNB Author: I. Lobato
Close-up of one corner of an organised entomological box containing 'Bombus' specimens from the Iberian Peninsula (Hymenoptera: Apidae). The specimens are organised with a pinned ID label at the start of each row to facilitate subsequent cataloguing. Source: MCNB Author: I. Lobato
Infography illustrating some preliminary results about one of our focal-taxa (genus Xylocopa, Insecta: Hymenoptera: Apidae). Its taxonomic difficulty is considered low (in green). INC-STEP holdings are >1,500 specimens belonging to 6 species. The most common species is X. violacea. Source: our own Photo credits: MNCN Ent. Coll. and P. Álvarez
M. González posing in front of her poster titled "Illustrating the challenges of creating a pollinator reference collection using skipper butterflies and carpenter bees". Source: our own Author: A. Sánchez Albert